How To Make a Chicken In The Instant Pot

5 from 8 votes

This Instant Pot Chicken recipe is perfect for when you are busy and need to get dinner on the table.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Additional Time30

Total Time1 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pressure cooker chicken, whole chicken

Servings:

1 whole thawed chicken
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon herbs - fresh or dried oregano, thyme, Italian seasoning, parsley, etc.
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh cracked pepper

Set your Instant Pot (IP) to the saute function.
Get a tablespoon of coconut oil going really hot. Any meat I like to cook in the Instant Pot, if you want it to have that crispy texture or that rotisserie flavor, you want to brown the outside first to lock in those juices. With the Instant Pot, you can do it all in the same pot.
Once the oil is nice and hot, you place in the chicken, breast side down.
Brown for 4-5 minutes. Use tongs to check the brownness.
Remove the chicken, place the chicken on the trivet and put the chicken back in. This allows the chicken to cook without sitting in the water.
Add one cup filtered water to the pot.
Sprinkle over top 1/2 tsp each of salt, fresh black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and herbs (dried or fresh). Sometimes I'll use a blend, like Italian seasoning, or just thyme or oregano. Paprika may also be good - experiment with what you like!
Make sure the silicon ring is on the IP, place the lid on in the correct position, and set the top knob to sealing.
Set the IP to high pressure for 30 minutes.
Let the pressure naturally release for about 20 minutes..
Remove chicken and slice.

The time listed below is based on cooking a 4-pound chicken . If you have a larger chicken, you will need to add about 10 minutes per pound.
You could set this for twice the amount of time and the chicken will still be tender, so no need to worry about overcooking.
Make sure to remove the giblets before cooking.
The oil can splash, so place the chicken in the oil gently.